Arlo
by Ultraviolet22
Summary: The 100 OC fanfic. The story begins at the start of season 2. After the dropship explodes, Bellamy is saved from an attacking grounder by a cryptic girl called Arlo. The two soon form an unlikely friendship, however Bellamy knows little about this mystery girl. Who is she? Where is she from? NOT a romantic fanfiction. Rated T for mild language and violent themes.
1. The 48 (Part 1)

**My first fic attempt! Just some random character I thought up, decided to write about her. I swear it's better than my shitty summary. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Bellamy's eyes fluttered open. He saw trees above him, as well as the sun, the sudden change in brightness burning his eyes so badly he clamped them shut again. His head hurt. He could feel a sharp pain searing through his left leg.

More importantly, he was moving. It felt as if he was on horseback. He rubbed his eyes and hazarded opening them again. This time, he squinted for a while and let them adjust to the sunlight. Immediately he confirmed his previous suspicions; he was laying, albeit quite uncomfortably, on the back of a horse. He craned his neck and looked past the animal's head.

The horse was being led through the forest by a young grounder; grounder being a loose description. This person looked nothing like any grounder Bellamy had ever seen. They were wearing a black jacket not unlike the ones from the Ark, and pants Bellamy recognized as jeans. That was strange. People didn't wear jeans anymore, they were from before the nukes. Upon noticing this person had a bow and many arrows strapped to their back, Bellamy concluded they were no friend of his.

He immediately tried to push himself off the horse onto his feet. He failed, instead slipping off its back and falling directly onto his sore leg. Unconsciously he cried out in pain, gritting his teeth and screwing his eyes shut.

"Jesus, take it easy!"

Bellamy's eyes flew open and locked onto those of the 'grounder'. He saw now it was a teenage girl, no older than sixteen. She had long brown hair and a freckled face, on which she sported a rather petulant expression. She stopped the horse and walked over to Bellamy, who immediately tried to stand up and move away. Pain rose from his leg and he fell down again.

"God, stop it, you're just making it worse, here -" The grounder girl reached out to grab Bellamy's arm. He dragged himself away from her. Anger spread across her face. "Would you cut it out?! I'm trying to help you!"

Bellamy examined her. He didn't trust her - mind, he didn't trust most people, but there was something about this kid's behavior that made him uneasy. He held up a hand to ward her away.

"I can get up myself, thanks," he responded finally, in a hoarse voice. The girl watched for a moment as he struggled in vain to pull himself onto his feet. Gritting his teeth together, he continued to rise and fall as the stranger turned her back and headed off towards her horse.

"Okay. Good luck with that," she said flatly.

* * *

A great deal of time passed before Bellamy finally relented and discontinued his unsuccessful attempts at escape. He started to wonder how long he'd been out for. They were in a part of the forest he did not recognize. The strange grounder kid hadn't laid an eye on him since he'd rejected her help and was instead busying herself with some book she'd pulled from her coat. He studied her while she was preoccupied, but still her appearance gave him no clues. Where was this kid from? What did she want from him? Where were the others?

The girl noticed Bellamy had stopped struggling and, without looking up from her book, called over to him.

"Are you quite done, Bellamy? Cause it's going to get dark soon and I'd rather not be travelling in nightfall. Especially not accompanied by the likes of you."

"How do you know my name?" Bellamy instantly replied, weariness creeping up on him once more.

The girl turned and stared at him for a moment, then shrugged.

"I know many things."

"Well, what the hell's that supposed to mean?"

The girl simply ignored him and lead the horse over to where he sat. She held out her hand for him. He looked at it, then at her face. She was staring down at him impatiently. He inhaled sharply and grabbed on to it. She helped pull Bellamy onto his feet and tried to guide him onto the horse.

"No, no, just get me a stick to lean on. I'll be fine walking."

"That sounds like a terrible idea. You'll be too slow. Get on the horse." The girl stared Bellamy down. He refused to move. She refused also. Eventually, too tired to protest any longer, Bellamy pulled himself onto the horse's back, making it clear he need not be assisted. She looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

"Brave warrior." Bellamy elected to ignore that condescending remark. She took hold of the horse's reigns and soon they were moving again. "I'd say your leg's broken in two places. Probably three, now that you've deliberately fallen off a horse and spent a good half hour trying to heave yourself into a standing position."

"How do you know my name?" Bellamy repeated. He tried to make his voice as stern as possible. He was _not_ about to be pushed around by a teenage girl, grounder or not. "Where are my friends? Where are you taking me?"

The girl peered over her shoulder at him, frowning. "Are you always this annoying?"

"Tell me what I want to know and I won't need to be."

"Fine," she responded, her voice taut. "I know your name because I've been watching you and your people for quite some time. Also Lincoln told me a few things."

"You know Lincoln?" Bellamy shot up at the mention of someone familiar.

"Briefly," the girl continued dismissively. "As for your friend, I'm taking you to him now."

"Finn? Is he alright?"

"What?" The girl stopped momentarily, giving Bellamy a questioning look. "Not the boy Finn, no. Another of your friends. Sam, or something, I think."

"Who?" Bellamy frowned at her. He didn't know any Sams. If Finn wasn't with them, where was he? They were separated when a grounder had chased them through the tunnels.

"I don't know, Stanley or Stewart or something like that," said the girl irritably, turning back to look ahead of them.

"Do you mean Sterling?" Bellamy surmised, thinking of any delinquent with a name similar to 'Stanley'.

"Yes!" The girl exclaimed. Bellamy was taken aback by her sudden show of any emotion but querulousness. "That's the one. Sterling."

"I'm confused," Bellamy began. "Where did you find Sterling? We were nowhere near each other. What was he doing? Why wasn't he in the dropship?"

"I don't know what he was doing, Bellamy. You were on the ground in a bad shape when he stumbled across you. A surviving warrior must've attacked you; I'm not sure, I wasn't there when it happened. Anyway, next thing another _gona_ appeared out of nowhere and started beating the living daylights out of the boy. I knew if there was one surviving warrior there'd be more to follow, so I got your friend out of there before he got himself killed."

"And you just left me behind?"

"Oh, well I'm sorry, a minute ago you wanted nothing to do with me," she snapped in response. "Besides, I could only take one of you at a time and, to be frank, you were in a better state to take care of yourself than he was."

"That bad?" Bellamy asked, his voice laden with concern.

"Honestly?" The girl responded. Her voice was gentle all of a sudden. "I think he's dying."

Bellamy didn't respond. Too many of them had died already.

"What about Finn?" He added, somewhat urgently. "Have you seen him?"

The girl inhaled sharply. Bellamy felt a pang of distress.

"Unfortunately," she began gravely, "the boy Finn has been taken."

"What? What do you mean taken?"

"Taken, captured, his freedom compromised. I believe you're familiar with Tristan? Well, the brute of a man found Finn and another of your people, and he's taken them to see the Commander."

"What do they want Finn for?"

"It's not Finn they want," said the girl lazily, seemingly tiring of Bellamy's ruthless questioning. "It could've been anyone."

"What do they want?" Bellamy repeated firmly.

"He..." The girl gazed solemnly over her shoulder at Bellamy. It was a look that worried him deeply; one which said, 'you don't really want to know'. He did, though, so he raised his eyebrows at her expectantly. She relented. "He is to answer for the crimes of your people."

"Oh God," Bellamy whispered. He dropped his head. They were going to kill Finn for something he was only ever adverse to. "I have to go help him."

"No you don't, Bellamy. You're not helping anyone in that state," the girl retorted in a warning tone. " And if you fall off that horse again I swear to God I will leave you in a ditch to die. Besides," she continued ominously. "Why do you always have to be the one to save everyone else? Why don't you take care of yourself and let someone else be hero for a change?"

"Kid, you can't just ignore problems until someone else solves them for you," Bellamy condemned. He didn't move, though. He knew if he fell off the horse again he wouldn't be going anywhere, and as much as he hated to say it, the kid was right. That wouldn't help anyone. "Also, if you're going to insist on using my name, you have to tell me yours."

"Yeah? Says who?"

"Says me!" Bellamy yelled. He was tired of this kid's attitude. She scoffed, much to his annoyance.

"Fine, keep your hair on, Jesus," she muttered. "It's Arlo."

"Arlo," Bellamy repeated in consideration.

"Yeah. A-r-l-o. Arlo," she said sharply. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Bellamy hesitated. "It's just not a grounder sounding name, that's all."

"I'm not sure who 'grounders' are," said Arlo. "But I guess that means I'm not one of them."

"'Grounders' is what we call the people who were already on Earth when we came down," said Bellamy absently. He hadn't really thought that his people were the only ones who called them 'grounders'. It was a strange notion.

They had been moving for a while now and Bellamy hoped it wouldn't take much longer. The horse was uncomfortable and his head was killing him. He wanted to ask where this kid was taking him that was so far away.

"Trikru?"

"What?" Bellamy shifted his gaze, thinking he'd misheard. He hadn't been paying attention.

"These grounder people, they're called Trikru. The Woods Clan."

Bellamy considered the name. He'd rather keep saying grounders. That was what he knew them to be.

* * *

"I hope you realize I'm not going to just forget about Finn," said Bellamy after a while. "Broken leg or not, I'm not letting him get killed by the grounders."

"Alright, don't be so dramatic. No-one's dying," Arlo replied. "It'll take days for Tristan to get to the commander. There's still time."

"What if it's not enough time? Listen, kid, I don't know where you're taking me, but..." Bellamy asserted. He considered his options. They were few and far between. "Okay. You can take me to Sterling, but then you have to go back. Tell Clarke the grounders have Finn and she'll find him."

Arlo said nothing. Bellamy was beginning to wish she'd just left him to the grounders. At least then he'd know what he was dealing with.

"Did you hear me, Arlo?"

"Clarke's not really..." she retaliated. "She can't help your friend."

"God, no," Bellamy croaked. A thousand possibilities ran through his mind; something had gone wrong in the explosion, there were enough surviving grounders to continue their assault...

"No, they're not dead, if that's what you're thinking," Arlo remarked, clearly noticing Bellamy's distress. "Just... absent."

"The grounders have them too? How many? Where are they taking them?"

"Not Trikru," said Arlo rather seriously as she pulled the horse to a stop. She waved her arms, gesturing to the scene in front of them. "Here we are!"

Bellamy sat up straight and looked in the direction of Arlo's motioning. It was a cave. There was nothing extraordinary about it, either. It looked just like every other cave he'd seen on the ground. He felt a sudden bite of anger.

"We walked all this time, for a cave! You couldn't have just taken us to a cave, I don't know, a few hours closer to the dropship?!"

Arlo, who had been tying the horse to a nearby tree, spun around and stared him straight in the eye. She looked dark.

"I wasn't going to just dump a defenseless, comatose boy in any old cave where a Trikru warrior could easily stumble across him in my absence!" She spat in response. "God you're a sour puss sometimes! What is your problem?"

Bellamy pursed his lips together. He tried not to let his embarrassment show.

"I see your point."

Arlo said nothing. She walked around to the horse's side and unstrapped a bag that was tied to the animal. After swinging it onto her back, she stared up at Bellamy.

"Are you going to be a hero and get down by yourself?"

Bellamy looked down at her. Her face was expressionless. He sighed and swung his good leg around. He was too tired to refuse her help. He held out his arms and she helped hoist him off the horse onto the ground. She held his arm as he limped into the cave.

Inside was just as unimpressive as outside; the cave was small, there were a few rocks to sit on and a candle or two, but not much else. Arlo had laid Sterling down on a sheet at the back. After guiding Bellamy onto one of the large rocks, Arlo went over to him and put her hand on his forehead.

"No change. He's still alive, though," she informed.

"That's always a positive," Bellamy replied. Arlo looked over to him and smiled, only slightly. He smiled back.

"We better fix up that leg," Arlo walked over to Bellamy and knelt down beside him. She opened the bag and pulled out a blanket of some sort, placing them onto the ground next to her. Without warning, she reached out and put her hand on Bellamy's leg.

"Um, ow," he said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry," Arlo responded, removing her hand and assessing his leg thoughtfully. It was an unconvincing apology. After some deliberation, she stood up and turned to the cave entrance. "I'll be right back."

A few minutes passed and she returned with an armful of various sticks and branches. She set them down next to Bellamy and pulled a long, flat branch from the pile.

"I'll need to straighten your leg and strap it to this stick, like a sort of splint," she said without looking up. "It'll hurt. A lot."

"Just do it," Bellamy replied. Without a moment's warning, Arlo grabbed his leg and pulled it straight. Bellamy cried out in pain. She picked up the blanket and wrapped it haphazardly around his leg. Once she was finished she stood up and looked down at it with her arms crossed.

"That should do it, I reckon," she said.

Bellamy looked down at her handiwork. The old, frayed blanket was loose in places and the stick was too long, meaning he wouldn't be able to bend his leg at all. He understood the girl wasn't a doctor, so he withheld any criticism.

"Yeah," he began, "that should do it."

* * *

 **Sorry about all the dialogue, I'll try to tone that down in the future. Will update soon! :)**


	2. The 48 (Part 2)

**A/N: Hey! This chapter's not as long as the last. Also, I'm really happy to see reviews on my first chapter, I'm glad you like it! I thought the idea might be a bit hit and miss. One reviewer asked if my name was Leia, it's not. Hope you like the chapter! :)**

* * *

"You hungry?" Without waiting for a reply, Arlo passed Bellamy something flat, yellow and doughy.

Night had long since fallen and the few candles were burning low. It was a cold night, but Bellamy hardly noticed, as he was used to it by now. It didn't seem to bother Arlo much either. Bellamy wondered how often she slept in caves like this one.

Bellamy stared down at the thing she had given him.

"It's just corn bread," said Arlo, noticing Bellamy's hesitance. Bellamy didn't respond. "You are familiar with bread?" She added with consideration.

"Yes, I know what bread is."

"Just checking."

Bellamy smiled inwardly as he took above out of the bread. It was like the more time he spent with this kid the weirder she became. The bread was an unfamiliar taste. He couldn't remember if he'd ever eaten corn before.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked finally.

"Because you need it," Arlo responded simply.

"Yeah, sure. Why are you really helping me?"

Arlo gave him a look that was both challenging and considerate.

"Not everyone has an ulterior motive, Bellamy," she said.

"Well, I've learnt by now that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is," he replied in a serious tone.

"Not this time," Arlo countered. "You should be thanking you're lucky stars I've just got nothing better to do right now."

Bellamy put his hands together and tapped them on his forehead. He couldn't decide how to feel about this kid.

"Who are you?"

"No-one of great significance, I assure you," said Arlo, smiling wryly. Bellamy frowned.

"Okay, where are you from? Are you a Trikru?" he retorted, remembering what she had told him about the 'grounders' real name earlier in the day.

"I'm not from anywhere," she said flippantly, taking a bite out of her bread. "And it's not ' _a Trikru_ '. Trikru is the clan name, so it would be 'are you _from_ Trikru'."

"Everyone has a place where they're from, kid."

"Not me. Not anymore."

Bellamy's eyes remained level with Arlo's. Her expression was thoroughly sincere; nothing about this conversation indicated she was lying, yet he wondered why she was being so vague about herself. It was as if she had nothing to hide, but also did at the same time.

"Well," Bellamy began. He couldn't understand this girl. "Who are your people?"

"I am my people."

Tearing her eyes away from his, Arlo stood up and walked away from Bellamy, crouching on the other side of the cave next to Sterling. The resentful note in her tone made Bellamy cringe. She was making it crystal clear she no longer wanted to discuss this topic.

Bellamy sighed. He wanted to know more about this kid, but he didn't want to push her. He figured it'd be better if they got along.

"Earlier you said the grounders didn't take my friends. Do you know who did?"

Arlo lifted her head, but did not turn to look at him. "I'm not certain, but I have my theories."

Bellamy said nothing, indicating he was waiting for her to continue.

"The mountain men," she said, still with her back turned. "And before you ask, I don't know what the mountain men would want with your people, but I'm afraid I know enough about them to say it's probably not good."

Bellamy decided if she said she didn't know he'd believe her, so stopped asking her about his friends. His concern did not ease, however. They sat in silence for some time while Bellamy finished his food. Still wanting to know more about Arlo, Bellamy tried asking questions that were less sensitive.

"Do you live with Trikru?" He asked. Arlo finally turned around to look at him, her eyes narrowed in consideration. She sighed and walked back over to the rock she'd been sitting on earlier.

"I wouldn't be welcome there even if I wanted to," she answered matter-of-factly, sitting down opposite him.

"Why wouldn't you be welcome?" Bellamy replied, knowing he had been asking far too many questions recently.

"Let's just say," Arlo began, staring down at her hands before bringing them up to meet Bellamy's with a sombre expression. "I have a bad reputation."

Bellamy frowned. He didn't understand what that meant. Why would she have a reputation? They looked at each other for a moment, before Arlo inhaled sharply and turned to the candle beside her.

"We'd better get some rest, if you want to wake early tomorrow and find this boy Finn."

With that, she blew the candle out.

* * *

Arlo woke early the next morning, partially relieved to see Bellamy still fast asleep. He asked too many questions. Used to her own company, she couldn't understand why he never stopped talking.

After checking the comatose boy - Sam? She could never remember - and walking down to the creek for some water, Arlo decided she should probably wake Bellamy. It was long past sunrise and if he so desperately wanted to rescue this Finn, she'd like to get it over with sooner rather than later. Especially if they had to go to TonDC to do it.

"Bellamy," she said, poking his shoulder with a twig, "get up."

He stirred, but did not wake. Arlo frowned and kicked his shoulder with her foot.

"Bellamy, get up!"

"What?! Wh-" Bellamy woke with a start. It took him a short while to get his bearings, and apparently remember what he was doing in this cave. He looked up at Arlo lazily, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "How long was I asleep?" He asked groggily.

Arlo handed him some water in a very old, rusted tin can.

"Longer than I'd like." She picked up her bag and started rounding up the possessions she had scattered across the cave. "We better leave soon if you want to get to your friend in time."

"Yeah, okay," Bellamy replied. He seemed disbelieving of the fact she was actually going to help him with that.

Arlo straightened up, having packed her things, and looked at Bellamy seriously.

"We have two options," she said. "We can conclude young Sam is a lost cause and leave without him, or we can cart an unconscious boy about the countryside with us throughout our crusade."

"We're not leaving him here, Arlo," Bellamy responded, glancing at her wearily. "You don't abandon your friends." After some thought, he added, "and his name is _Sterling_."

"I've never spoken a word to that boy in my life, I'd hardly say we're friends," Arlo countered stoically. "He could be brain dead and we wouldn't know the difference."

"He could be," Bellamy simply replied, limping over to where Sterling lay. He began struggling to bend down beside him when Arlo sighed, in an overly dramatic manner, and marched over to stand beside him.

"Don't be stupid," she hissed, bending down to grab Sterling's arm roughly.

"Be gentle," Bellamy snapped.

"Why? He can't feel it, he's dead to the world!"

The arguing continued as they struggled to lift Sterling out and onto the horse.

* * *

They set off soon after, travelling far slower than Arlo would prefer, due to Bellamy's leg. They walked in silence for a while, Arlo thinking that they'd better make it by nightfall because she only packed enough food for herself, and together the pair had eaten it all yesterday.

"So, how long have you been spying on us for?"

"Since the day you fell from the sky. I saw your spaceship land and thought, 'wow, they came from outer space, I must go see them!' Lincoln and I had bets on how long you'd last. I took one look at your motley group and said, 'a month, and not one minute more'. I lost."

Bellamy smiled widely, looking down at the girl. He felt like he hadn't smiled in a very long time.

"Nice to know I exceed your expectations."

"More with each passing day," said Arlo, looking at Bellamy with a teasing smirk. "While we're on this topic, I'd just like to say I really loved the slicked-back hair you sported when you first came down. That really was a special kind of something."

"Shut up," Bellamy responded playfully. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"TonDC. It's sort of like the capital of the Trikru villages," Arlo informed. "If Tristan took your friend anywhere, that'll be it."

Bellamy nodded. Arlo watched him as he stared at Sterling, concern washing over his face. He really was something else; grumpy and caring and warm-hearted and tormented all at the same time.

"What was space like?" Arlo asked after a while.

Bellamy thought the question over for a moment.

"Pretty terrible, to be honest. Not for everyone; if you were rich and educated and privileged it would've been great, but if you weren't, you had to master the art of just scraping by. My family was poor. We never had very much. I missed out on most of my childhood taking care of Octavia and my mother."

"Why did you miss out on a childhood because of them?"

"To preserve oxygen and resources, it was illegal to have more than one child on the Ark. We had to hide Octavia, otherwise my mother would've been killed for having the both of us." He looked away before adding, "Octavia's tough, though. We managed fine."

Arlo considered this. She didn't know how to feel about it. One the one hand, it was awful and completely barbaric. However, she knew that everyone simply does what they must to survive.

Bellamy turned to face her.

"What about you? Any siblings?" He asked. His voice was gentle, like Arlo was a wild animal and he was afraid he might scare her off.

Arlo gazed at him earnestly. He answered all of her questions, so she figured it only proper she do the same. Besides, it's not like she really cared that much anyway.

"I had two older brothers, Xavier and Bray. Bray was gentle and kind; he was different to everyone else, he liked drawing and nature. He was softly spoken and always looked down when he walked, treading gently on the earth. He used to take me out to the fields near our village where the deer grazed, to see the fawns. When I was young I would wail if ever we had to eat deer. It made my father so angry he forbade Bray from ever taking me there again. Then, my father told me sometimes we had to kill others if it allowed us to live." Arlo stared at the ground as she spoke. There was a sadness in her voice that moved Bellamy. It was a haunting kind of sadness that resided deep within a person. "Xavier was nothing like Bray. He was gruff and stone-cold. He taught me to shoot things and fight people. He was exactly like my father. He lacked moral, and the basic respect for life that made Bray who he was. Compared to Xavier, father didn't much like Bray or I. No bother, we didn't much like him either." Arlo and Bellamy looked at each other. Whatever sadness had been present earlier was all but gone. "But he's dead now, so I shouldn't say that."

"I'm sorry," Bellamy said softly.

"What for? You didn't kill them."

"Maybe not, but I'm sorry all the same."

* * *

 **Please review, I'll update soon!**


	3. TonDC

**A/N: Oh my Lord, I haven't updated in weeks. I forgot and then I was too busy, and yeah. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I rpomise I'll post the next as soon as I finish it :)**

* * *

"Stop it, Bellamy."

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything."

"Stop looking over your shoulder, grabbing onto that gun, being all paranoid. What do you think's going to happen? Someone will leap out from the shrubbery and attack us?"

Bellamy looked over at Arlo wearily. She shot him an apathetic glance in return.

"Well, the grounder who attacked us, he could be following us right now and we'd have no idea."

"I killed that man, so I doubt he's doing much of anything."

"What?" Bellamy frowned, giving Arlo a look of both concern and confusion. "You killed him?"

"He was trying to kill you. What does it matter?" Arlo countered, annoyed.

"It matters, Arlo." Bellamy muttered in response. Raising his voice, he repeated. "Killing people matters."

"Not to me."

They continued in silence. Bellamy figured it best to not attempt to challenge Arlo's convictions. Besides, he knew what grounders were like. Clarke told him a while ago they had warriors as young as twelve who'd killed in battle.

"Do you think that w-" Bellamy was cut off by a pained groan coming from behind him. Sterling.

Arlo had already pulled the horse to a stop and walked back to him. He was holding his head and squinting at her.

"Get away," he drawled. "Who are you? Stay back..."

"Sterling. Sterling," Bellamy said, holding Sterling's shoulder. "It's Bellamy. Can you hear me? Sterling?"

"Bellamy?" Sterling mumbled. He screwed his eyes shut and groaned in pain. He was still holding his head on his hands. He opened his eyes and leaned closer to Bellamy, attempting to whisper. "Bellamy, there's a grounder behind us."

"I know, Sterling," Bellamy responded gently. "Don't worry, she's helping us. Her name is Arlo."

"You trust her?" Sterling asked.

"Yes, I do." Bellamy answered.

"Okay," said Sterling. It was clear that settled it. Bellamy trusted the grounder, and he trusted Bellamy.

Bellamy looked over to Arlo. "We need to stop. He's clearly in pain."

"Fine," Arlo sighed. There was an edge of worry to her tone. "But we can't be too long."

Bellamy and Arlo helped Sterling off the horse as gently as they could. The manoeuvre took great difficulty considering Bellamy's leg was broken and he could barely hold himself up, let alone someone else. Sterling stood leaning on a tree and Bellamy walked the horse over to another tree and ties the reigns to it. Arlo was standing by Sterling as he stumbled forward, almost falling. Arlo reached forward in time and grabbed hold of his arms, steadying him.

"Woah there, Sammy, you're alright," she said, guiding him down to the ground. "How about we just sit down here for a bit, hmm?" Once he was sitting on the ground, Arlo brushed her hand over the back of his head, pulling it away coated in his blood. Making sure Sterling wouldn't see, she held it up to Bellamy.

"It's _Sterling_ ," Bellamy muttered unconsciously, rushing over to crouch next to the boy. "You feeling alright, Sterling?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," Sterling sighed.

Bellamy and Arlo looked at each other. Bellamy's face was plagued with concern. Arlo jerked her head, motioning for him to move off to the side.

"I'm no doctor, Bellamy," she told him. "He could have internal bleeding, we don't know."

"He's going to be fine." Arlo looked at Bellamy sympathetically. "Don't look at me like that, he's going to be fine. We're fighters, and we didn't make it this far just to die in the woods like animals." Not waiting on a reply, Bellamy turned around and held up two fingers in front of Sterling. "How many fingers am I holding up, Sterling?"

"Two?" Sterling responded carefully. Bellamy eyed him cautiously, considering his next move.

"You right to get back on this horse?" Sterling nodded and Bellamy turned around to Arlo, who was walking back to the horse. "We're going to find Finn then we're going home," he said. Too busy helping Sterling to his feet, Bellamy didn't hear Arlo's weary sigh.

* * *

After gathering themselves and hoisting Sterling onto the horse, they set off once more. At first, they walked in silence, but soon Arlo noticed Sterling's head hanging forward. She reached up and shook him, quite violently.

"Hey, Buddy, stay awake for me, okay?" She said as he came to.

"Yeah, okay," Sterling replied.

"We don't want you falling asleep again, that's all," Arlo continued. She lowered her voice and added, "you might not wake up if you do." Handing the reigns to Bellamy, who was limping quietly beside her, she stood back and walked alongside Sterling.

"Tell me about yourself, Sam," she said. Bellamy whipped his head around and shot her a warning glance, which she countered with a sly smile.

"Well..." Sterling began, apparently not noticing, or rather not acknowledging, Arlo's name swap. "I'm from Factory Station and my last name is Wilson and I have a friend called Monroe..." Trailing off, Sterling's eyes suddenly widened. "Monroe! Have you seen her? She has red hair and we got separated after we saw the Ark crash, and,"

"I saw her," Arlo interrupted. "She went back to the spaceship to wait for your people." Bellamy looked over and the two exchanged glances. That was a lie. Bellamy said nothing.

"No, Monroe wouldn't just leave..."

"She didn't, she just went to go find help," Arlo said. "Don't worry, we'll go get Finn and then we can go back to the spaceship and Monroe will be waiting for us."

"Right, yeah, of course," Sterling said. He closed his eyes for a moment.

"What was space like?" Asked Arlo suddenly.

"Oh, it was alright. The thing I miss the most is probably cake. There's nothing but nuts and berries down here. Do grounders have cake?" He responded lazily, looking down at Arlo.

"I'm not a-" Arlo began, trailing off to consider her response. "Yeah, grounders have cake. Probably not the cake you're used to though."

"Well, I'm used to cake made without egg or sugar or flavour, so it's probably better."

"Why do you miss that? It doesn't sound very nice," Arlo asked. She didn't really care that much, but wanted to keep the conversation going.

"You don't miss some things until they're gone, you know?"

"Yeah," Arlo responded quietly. "I know."

* * *

After another hour of meaningless conversation, Arlo rushed in front and held her hand up, indicating for Bellamy to stop.

"This is it," she said. Bellamy looked past her. He didn't see anything. He was about to vocalise that fact, when he noticed something reflecting the light through the trees. Then he looked harder in that spot and faintly saw some kind of wall, constructed from wood and scrap metal. Then he noticed the grounders standing guard on it.

"There's a wall," Bellamy muttered out loud.

"Yeah, there's a wall," Arlo responded. "Here's the plan. We'll trek up here," she continued, motioning uphill, to the left of the group, "to an elevated clearing where you two can wait and see into the village. I'll go in, find a _gona_ , question him about Finn and find out where he is. Once we know where to find your friend we'll plan our next move. Okay?"

Arlo took the horse's reigns from Bellamy and headed off, but he reached out and pulled her arm back. She looked at him, confused.

"What if-" Bellamy began nervously. "What if he's not there? What if they killed him already?"

"They wouldn't," she answered. Bellamy didn't look convinced. "Listen, Bellamy, he has been brought here to answer to the Commander for the crimes of your people. The Commander isn't here yet and they won't start without her."

"How do you know this Commander's not here yet?" Bellamy countered.

"If the Commander were here, I would know about it. Trust me."

Arlo continued walking and Bellamy reluctantly followed. Why would she know? That didn't make any sense. He didn't even know whyhe was so quick to trust this strange girl. It was probably because she reminded him of Octavia. He hoped Octavia was okay, wherever she was.

They soon reached the place Arlo was referring to, and she tied the horse to a tree. Standing on her toes, she held Sterling's shoulder.

"Don't die while I'm gone, okay Sammy?"

"Where are you going?" Sterling replied, looking slightly concerned. Bellamy wondered why he was so quick to trust her also. Maybe it was just something about her.

"Just going to pop into town and get Finn," she told him. If this wasn't such a serious situation Bellamy would've laughed at that. Arlo turned to Bellamy and began talking. "You can't be seen, under any circumstances, okay? If they spot you up here, get on that horse and get the hell out of here. Don't wait for me." Bellamy didn't really like that idea, but said nothing. While she was talking, Arlo pulled a small knife out of her coat. Suddenly, without warning, she used it to cut open her hand.

"What the hell are you doing, Arlo!?" Bellamy yelled. Arlo shushed him with a frown. While she spoke, she used the fingers on her other hand to paint on her face with her own blood. Bellamy recoiled in the horror of it.

"Don't worry, I'm just blending in," she said nonchalantly as she dragged her blood-coated fingers from the middle of her forehead, over her nose down to her chin.

"Don't worry? _Don't worry?_ I am worried. I am deeply worried. This is not _normal_."

Arlo rolled her eyes at him impatiently. "Just because you're not used to something Bellamy, doesn't mean it's not normal to someone else," she said monotonously. "Anyway, last thing: if someone kills me, run. Don't stand here with your mouth open like some sort of idiot, just get the hell out of here."

"What?" Bellamy croaked. He was beginning to wonder if this was at all a good idea. "Why would someone kill you?"

"You'd be surprised," is all Arlo said, before turning on her hell and heading down the hill toward the wall. Once she reached it, she looked back at Bellamy and gave him a smile, most likely trying to reassure him. It didn't work. Then she reached up and lifted herself over the wall effortlessly, and with a level of stealth that made Bellamy think this probably wasn't the first time she'd done it.

Once she was inside, she hid behind ramshackle buildings, peering around them and darting around like she was in a corny spy film. Bellamy wondered if she was just being stupid. Soon enough she spotted someone who got her attention and she stopped what she was doing. Before walking out to meet the grounder man, Arlo reached behind and adjusted the bow she had slung over her shoulder. By this point, Bellamy was beyond nervous.

Once the grounder saw Arlo, he stepped back apprehensively. Bellamy strained to hear what they were saying. The grounder was shaking his head and Arlo was pointing and gesturing with her arms. She seemed restless.

Something was wrong.

* * *

 **Please review! I'll update soon!**


	4. Niylah (Part 1)

**A/N: This chapter is the longest so far. Sorry I update so randomly, I just write whenever I can find time, I've been fairly busy lately. Just a quick reference, Arlo says ' _gona_ ' in every chapter (I think), and it just means 'warrior' in the grounder language. There is more Trigedasleng dialogue in this chapter and I've put the translations at the bottom of the page, just because I didn't really want them in brackets in the middle of the page. Sorry if that's a little annoying :) Also, I've translated to Trigedasleng the best I could, not sure if they are completely accurate though. Hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

Bellamy felt his chest constricting. He leaned against a nearby tree and blinked furiously as he watched Arlo argue with the grounder. Why was this happening? Where did they go wrong?

He felt like he was suffocating, buried under the burden of his losses and responsibilities. Struggling for air, he was slipping. It was too much. All at once, sweaty-palmed and dizzy, he watched the brutish grounder turn and yell something in a language he did not recognise. Bellamy watched, panic consuming him, as Arlo turned in the opposite direction, disappearing from sight.

This was not happening. This could not be happening. He and Sterling had no chance without that girl. A group of grounders, each armed with various weapons, gathered around and set off quickly on Arlo's trail.

Bellamy turned to Sterling. He didn't know what to do. He never really knew what to do. These things always seemed to happen to him. It wasn't fair. Arlo's words rang through his head as he untied the horse from the tree. _'Don't stand here with your mouth open like some sort of idiot. Get the hell out of here.'_ He stood, reigns in his hand, but did not move a step.

"We can't leave without her, Bellamy," Sterling said quietly. Bellamy blinked, feeling like the boys words had broken him out of some kind of strange trance. "It isn't right."

Bellamy gazed up at Sterling. He was right. And Bellamy knew, deep down, that they weren't going anywhere, even though they should.

Bellamy wrung the rope in his hands and shuffled his feet, considering his options. If they stayed, they would die. But if they left, they would probably also die. They had no idea where they were, no food, no weapons, little water; he knew they didn't stand much of a chance on their own. There was a high likelihood Sterling would die no matter what they did; he could barely stand on his own, let alone walk.

"You stupid boy." A harsh voice interrupted his thought process. He spun around, instinctively reaching for his gun, yet rested his hand when met with a familiar, freckled, sour face.

"Arlo?" The girl rolled her eyes and pulled the reigns from Bellamy's hands, storming off quickly up the hill. Bellamy jogged to catch up to her.

"What were you thinking? My God. Did you listen to anything I told you?" She continued. Bellamy said nothing. Secretly, he didn't care. She could say whatever she liked. Although he'd never admit it, he'd seldom been more glad to see someone in his life. " _Biga gona, em sen in op non. Ai nou fir raun. Ai mana jomp in. Joken branwoda._ " Although he didn't understand her last remark, he let it slide this once, deciding he may not want to know.

"You mustn't be that surprised. You did, after all, circle back to our meeting place."

"Yes, well, it seems you do not exceed my expectations as much as we previously thought." While her words were mean, her voice was not, and Bellamy could tell by the girl's expression she wasn't really angry. "Next time, though, please leave. Seriously, I've made it this far on my own, I don't need you waiting in the wings to play hero for me now. I can take care of myself."

Bellamy didn't like that. She shouldn't have to look after herself. He knew the feeling of having nobody to count on and it wasn't great.

"Forgive me if I don't take orders from you, kid," he responded, his voice gentle. "Like I said, you don't abandon your friends."

Arlo looked up at Bellamy for a moment. He did not look back and couldn't see her eyes on him, but he knew they were there. He wasn't really sure why he said that last part, but for some reason it felt true to him, so he let the words linger for a while.

"Your friend Finn wasn't there," Arlo said eventually, not a big fan of awkward silences.

Bellamy blinked furiously, shaking his head, before clearing his throat and releasing a deep, hollow sigh.

"I thought we'd be too late. Actually, no - I knew we'd be too late. I knew it," he mumbled. There was an emptiness in his voice as he spoke. Arlo gazed up at him. A certain kind of pain haunted this boy. "I knew. It's my fault. All of this... this is all my fault." He whispered.

Arlo stared at Bellamy a while longer, thinking what a pitiful creature he was. It was like he had been surrounded by darkness so long, seen so much pain, he had become unable to see light. Not one for emotions, however, Arlo took a sharp breath and raised her eyebrows. "Alright, drama queen," she said. Bellamy immediately whipped his head round and looked at her with both insult and shock. "I didn't say he was dead."

Bellamy frowned darkly and scoffed. "No, but I can read between the lines, Arlo," he spat. "And I'm not a drama queen."

Arlo continued, not intending to insult Bellamy too much; rather, as she saw it, to make a point. "Sure. Just promise you won't ruin that perfect baby face of yours with worry lines from all the frowning you do."

"Shut up," Bellamy muttered bitterly. Under his breath, Arlo could just hear him mutter " _baby face my ass._ "

"Anyway," Arlo began, deciding it best to move on at this point, "Finn wasn't there because he never arrived."

"So they killed him on the way, that's no better," Bellamy reviled. Arlo frowned at him once more.

"Again, with the death! What is your problem? No, I was told some _gona_ went to inspect the damage done in battle and on the way they found Tristan shot dead. Finn and the other of your people were nowhere to be seen."

"Shot? By other grounders? I don't understand," Bellamy replied. His disdain and anger at Arlo's name-calling faded quickly. "Do you think it was the people who took Clarke and the others?"

"No, he was shot with a gun. Grounders don't use guns. I also doubt it was those who took your people; why go through that much trouble for one man?" Arlo explained. "I think it more likely your friends from space may have come to the rescue after all."

"The Ark," Bellamy muttered absently. He'd almost forgotten it was set to land. He had to go there. "Do you... Do you know where it is?"

"Roughly. I'm sure if we wander around in the area we'll stumble upon it soon enough," Arlo responded fleetingly.

Bellamy didn't even ask and she was offering to help him get there. He just could not, for the life of him, understand this girl. With her unusual clothing and blood-painted face, this Arlo was the strangest person he had ever met.

"We'll have to set off tomorrow, though. We won't make it there today."

"Why can't we just walk through the night?"

"Not even I am stupid enough to travel during nightfall in these parts, Bellamy. Trust me, it's not a good idea." Arlo countered in a lecturing tone. Bellamy wanted to ask what was so scary about night 'in these parts', but in an effort to not look naive, he bit his tongue. "Besides, we should stop. I fear young Sam may not last the journey if we don't."

Bellamy turned to look at Sterling. He was fast asleep, again, on the back of the horse. Bellamy felt intensifying guilt each time he looked at Sterling. He was a good kid, a really good kid, who could well die any time, and Bellamy barely knew him. He felt like he'd failed him.

"Where will we go?" Bellamy asked.

"There is a trading outpost an hour or so from here. I know the girl who lives there. She will help us," Arlo replied. She looked over at Bellamy, then off to the side, hastily adding, "Probably."

* * *

After a long walk Bellamy and Arlo, horse in tow, finally arrived at the trading post. It was a shack, relatively large compared to others Bellamy had seen. There were things strewn all over the place; a completely random assortment of what he considered, for the most part, to be nothing but junk. Arlo silently tied the horse to a fence post. Bellamy dared not say a word as she inspected the building and motioned for him to follow her inside.

Inside was no different to the place's exterior - things everywhere, little order. It was quite dark and cluttered. A large bench, which Bellamy presumed acted as a counter of some sort, ran across one of the walls. Standing behind it, their back turned, was a grounder. While Arlo spoke of this person with relative trust, Bellamy could not help but reach out and grasp onto his all-too familiar gun. He was wondering if it was a good idea to leave Sterling outside, what Arlo was going to say to the grounder, how she could help them, _if_ she would help them.

"Niylah!" Arlo exclaimed without warning, smiling broadly. Bellamy's eyebrows creased together in confusion, just for a moment. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The grounder, Niylah, a woman with dark blonde hair in a braid, dressed in fur, turned to face the pair. She sighed audibly at Arlo, eyebrows raised, appearing thoroughly annoyed. Bellamy couldn't help wonder if the strange girl always had that effect. Without giving any sort of greeting, Niylah moved her eyes up to inspect Bellamy. Her expression hardened. Bellamy could feel his own face tense in anticipation. The woman looked back at Arlo.

" _Chon dison bilaik, Arlo?_ " She asked. Though Bellamy couldn't understand, she sounded impatient and cold. Seemingly unfazed, Arlo replied instantly.

" _You get klin, jos laik skat. Non get daun hashta._ "

The woman only frowned deeper at Arlo's response, before gazing at Bellamy again. She inspected his clothing more closely, her face growing more angry with each passing moment. Bellamy was becoming very uneasy. Staring between Arlo, the unfriendly grounder woman and the door, he considered his options.

" _Skaikru,_ " Niylah hissed. Bellamy took an instinctive step back and stared at Arlo wearily. She held out her hand, signalling him to stay calm. " _Chon yu bilaik op lid in Skaikru hir, Arlo? Bants, ai nou lufa sich au. Ai nou na sin in kom disha kru._ "

"God, spare me, woman. He wouldn't hurt a fly," Arlo spat suddenly. Bellamy was taken aback by her sudden change in dialect. So was the grounder, apparently, judging by her instant shift in expression. "Also, we are not in the company of savages here. From now on we speak English."

Niylah cleared her throat uneasily and glared at Arlo with disdain. Breaking their eye contact, she looked down at the bench and busied herself with sorting some scrap metal.

"I don't know what you are doing with this sky boy, Arlo, or why you insist on bringing trouble wherever you go," she said finally. "But must you bring it here, to me?"

"I'd nowhere else to go," Arlo responded flatly. "And I thought you fairly liberal. I've few other options."

"What do you want, Arlo?" Said Niylah, bringing her eyes up to meet the girl's. She was no longer frowning. To Bellamy, she just looked tired.

"Food," Arlo said. "And a place to stay for the night."

"If you want food, you'll have to trade me something. This is a _trading outpost_ , that's how it works. I don't make exceptions. Not for Skaikru, and not for you," Niylah responded in a stern voice. Arlo remained silent, keeping steady eye contact with the woman. "And this is not a hostel. You cannot stay here."

"Come on, Niylah," Arlo countered insolently. "Don't be stupid. Let us stay in the barn. You won't even know we're there."

"No, Arlo. I can't have you here. Go trouble someone else."

"How about this," Arlo began. Her tone was menacing and her face grim. Bellamy looked between her and Niylah, wondering if this was going to work. "We will stay in the barn and you will give us some food, and in exchange I will not cut off your arms while you sleep."

Bellamy frowned in horror. Was she trying to make an enemy of this woman? He looked up at Niylah, who barely bat an eyelid at the girl's words.

"Don't threaten me, girl," she replied coldly. "Unlike many others, I am not frightened by you."

" _Osir ai op hashta en daun_ ," said Arlo venomously. The woman seemed to be growing more impatient by the minute, and Bellamy noticed she seemed to be flicking her eyes toward the door frequently. She sighed again at Arlo.

"Listen, Arlo, even if I wanted to help you, my father would have a fit if he knew you were here," Niylah said. She glanced at Bellamy briefly. "Let alone in this sky boy's company."

"Perhaps it's about time you stood up to him," Arlo countered, smirking.

"Don't be smart with me."

"Don't give me reason to be." Arlo and Niylah locked eyes for a time, neither saying anything and both refusing to relent. Bellamy stared uncomfortably between the two, not really knowing what to do. Eventually, Arlo sighed and looked away, tapping her foot in consideration of her next move. She looked back at Niylah. "There is another boy with us. He has been beaten badly. If we do not help him tonight he will surely die. Would you let that happen?"

"Yes," Niylah deadpanned.

"Jus- God, just stop being difficult and do what I ask!" Arlo exploded. Bellamy could tell she was fast running out of options.

"Why should I?" Niylah yelled back.

"Because I asked nicely," Arlo growled. Her tone was truly dark now and even Bellamy felt slightly threatened by the girl's voice and expression. "And I only do that once."

Niylah blinked and looked away from Arlo. clearly thinking the situation over. Bellamy stared down at the girl. White knuckled and scowling, she was gripping the edge of the counter, blood still smeared across her face. She really did look angry now. Soon Arlo let go of the counter and folded her arms.

"Do this one thing for me, then you can consider me in your debt," she offered, having calmed down. Niylah looked back at Arlo.

"I'll try to scrape together some scraps for you, but I'm not promising anything," she said dryly. "You can sleep in the barn loft for _one night_ , but you better be gone by nightfall. If you're still here when I wake in the morning, then we'll have a real problem." When she finished speaking, Niylah slammed a piece of old copper on the bench and stormed off through a side door.

Bellamy let out a breath he felt like he'd been holding in for hours. His concern crept up again, though, as he watched Arlo turn and begin to take several items off shelves and put them into her bag.

"What are you doing, Arlo?" He whispered, looking back at the door to make sure the grounder couldn't see.

"We need it, she won't even notice."

"Should we really be stealing from her?" He retorted in a slightly panicked voice. "She's already mad, and she is doing us a favour."

Arlo stopped and turned, frowning. "Favour my ass," she said, too loud for Bellamy's liking. "She's only helping because she's worried I'll burn down her house. If she wanted me to be friendly she should've said yes the first time." After this, she turned and started walking outside. "Come on, Bellamy," she called.

Taking one last look around, Bellamy followed behind her. He was now seeing a side to this kid he didn't expect, and was beginning to understand what she meant by her 'bad reputation'.

* * *

 **TRANSLATIONS**

I didn't want to put the Trigedasleng translations in the middle of the text so I've put them down here. The phrases are in the order they are said.

" _Biga gona, em sen in op non. Ai nou fir raun. Ai mana jomp in. Joken branwoda._ "

"Big warrior, I listen to nobody. I am fearless. I mean to fight. Fucking fool."

" _Chon dison bilaik, Arlo?_ "

"Who is this, Arlo?"

" _You get klin, jos laik skat. Non get daun hashta._ "

"You know, just some boy. Nobody [to] worry about."

" _Skaikru"..._ " _Chon yu bilaik op lid in Skaikru hir, Arlo? Bants, ai nou lufa sich au. Ai nou na sin in kom disha kru._ "

"Sky person"... "Who are you to bring Sky people here, Arlo? Leave, I don't want trouble. I cannot be seen with this people."

" _Osir ai op hashta en daun_ ,"

"We see about that,"

 **Hope you liked the chapter! Please review!**


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